Package



Patented Apr. 2, 1940 UNTTED STATES 2,195,495 PACKAGE Harry E. Popp, Loudonville, N. Y. assigner to Fort Orange Chemical Co.,v Inc., Albany, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationVv July 6, 1937, Serial No.y 152,108 7. claims.v (ci. 35-59) My invention particularly relates-to a cosmetic package comprising al containerfor a liquid nail polish and a tabv associated there with having' a colored zone which affords a true indication of the shade provided by a dried film of the nail polish in the container asl-it appears upon avnger nail. The term liquid nail polish is meant to include so-calledk nail lacquers or nail enamels designed to Abe vapplied as liquidsA to the finger nails and allowed to dry into a thin` film. The liquid may be either transparent, eX-

cept for coloration, or rendered opaque byy pig'- ments or other suitable means. y

It is Well'known that the appearance of nail polish in a container such as a glass bottle, so

far as Athe precise shade'of color is concerned,

differs from that of a film of the liquid which has dried after application to a finger nail.' Such color differences result not only from shading produced by the bottle itself but vis also due to natural variations in appearanceof colored liq,U

uids whenviewed in bulk or in thin, dried films. Heretofore, nail polish manufacturers Ihave provided, for use in the resalefof their articles,

so-called color charts comprisingA strips ror panels l upon which is printed a series of the colors in Which the nail polish is manufactured.

An obvious objection to color charts in general resides in the fact that it is practically inrpossible to reproduce by printing true represen tations of the colorations produced by the polishes when applied in thin'films andlpermitted to dry' l on finger nails, and furthermore, even inl those cases where the color chart affords the prospec tive purchaser a somewhat accuratey representai tents of the container when applied ina thin filmY 45 to a finger nail; said tab being preferably, but

not necessarily, afxed to the package or the container. Anotherv object' resides in providinga tab formed of a flexible, diaphanous material and` comprising a portion, atleast in part, having a 50 contour simulating the shape of a finger nail and bearing a thin, dried film of the same color and opacity as will be formed by the polishin the container with which said tab is associated.. A

still "further object resides in providing aftab of 55.. .the foregoing character'but in whichl the portions thereof simulating the shapeof a finger nail is also concave and fairly complementary tothe curvlu ature of a finger nail whereby the tab maybe* closely superimposed on a'fingerr nail to provide substantially an exact indication of the appear-` ance of the nail with the polish applied'thereto.

- With these and other `objectsl in view, my yinventio'n includes the novel elements and arrange;- ments thereof described below and illustrated invv the accompanying drawing Vin which- 10 1 is an elevation view of a-coritainer with a tab'in its preferred form affixed thereto; Y

Fig.l 2 is a side View of Fig. 1 illustrating the curvilinearshape of thetab; 1

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view/of a container, similar Vto Fig. 2, showing the manner of insert-v ing a nger nail-beneath the tab;

Fig. ,4 is a fragmentary plan View illustrating the appearance Aof a finger nail beneath'the tab;

Fig.`5 is av fragmentary, sectional vview-taken longitudinally of the tab and illustrating the configuration thereof;

Fig. 61 is a perspectiveview ofv a modifiedtab;

and f v Figl"7 is a side elevation View of a container [25 with' the tab. of Fig.v 6 afiixed thereto.

Inasmuch as v nail polish containers usually comprise glass bottles, I have, for purposes of illustration, 'shown a bottle as -one element of my package to which is axed acolor-indicating tab. 30 It will be understood, however, that the term container isVV intended to include theexterior covering or-.element of theindividual package to` which they tabsfare affixed because Acartons and thelike, within which are housed the actual liq- 35 uid'fcontainers or bottles, may he employed and the tabs maybe aiiiXed to the exterior of these cartons to permit-prospective purchasers to examine and test the actual color and shade of the nail polish sold therein.v

lIn the drawing, l indicates a glassbottle provided vvith a screw cap 2 and to the sidey of whichv is aiXed Aa tab, indicated generally at it, which is preferably formed of a thin strip of fiexible or resilient, diaphanous material such, for example,

as rCelluloid.` The tab 3 preferably'comprises a comparatively elongated and narrow shank il, one f end ofwhich may be aixedto the-exterior lof the' bottle as, fory example, byV means of af gurnrned label' 5. The other end portionvr ii of the tab'50 y is formed in contour to approximate the shape4 of a finger nail and is of the same color and opacity asia lthin dried vfilm of the liquid in the bottleY l'. At' least the'end E of the tab'is preferably'formedA of. as colorless and transparent. material: and, of 55 course, for simplicity, the entire tab may be fabricated of a material of this character. The coloration of the tab may be obtained by coating a colorless material with material similar to that in the bottle as indicated at 'I or with any paint, lacquer or ink of the proper shade and opacity or by fabrication of the tab from colored material, as for example, Celluloid, of the correct shade and opacity.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the zone of coloration 8 of the tab, illustrated by way of example as of a red or pink color, preferably simulates in contour the pink-colored portion of a finger nail and, in order further to carry out a fairly accurate simulation, the lower edge 9 of the tab is preferably curved inwardly to conform with the crescent-shaped, white base of the finger nail.

In the use of the tab, as illustrated in Fig. 3, a nger or thumb may be inserted beneath the portion E thereof, the nail-shaped portion being arranged substantially in registry with and overlying the nail of the linger and the colored portion of the tab providing an accurate indication of the appearance of the nail with the polish applied thereto.

To provide an exceedingly accurate indication of the appearance of the polish upon a nger nail, the portion 6 of the tab is concave in form as indicated at IB (see Fig. 5), the conguration thereof being substantially complementary to that of a linger nail. With this construction, the thin tab, when overlying a iinger nail, provides the effect of a film of nail polish actually applied to the finger nail.

Although designed primarily to provide an accurate indication of the precise color and shade of the liquid polish contained therein, my package is also designed with a view to compactness. I have, therefore, formed the tab of comparatively thin, iiat, flexible material so that the tab may be aiiixed normally to lie at, substantially throughout the entire length thereof, adjacent the side of the bottle. At the same time, due to its iiexibility, a prospective purchaser may insert a finger beneath the lower end of the tab and flex the same away from the bottle to permit the finger to be viewed as shown in Fig. 4. 'I'he outline and the nail itself, as illustrated at Il in dotted lines, may beviewed through the trans-k parent tab and hence, substantially the precise appearance of the nail as though the nail polish of the container were applied thereto is afforded to the prospective buyer without unsealing or opening the container.

Upon a removal of the iinger, the `tab springs back to its initial position adjacent the side of the bottle to preserve the compact and neat appearance of the package.

A modified form of tab is illustrated in Fig. 6 and its application to a container is shown in Fig. '7. The modified tab, indicated at I2, comprises a thin diaphanous strip of iiexible material formed with an offset portion I3, substantially at right angles to the shank I4 thereof, An opening I5 isprovided in the oiiset I3 to receive the neck of a container, the tab being secured thereto by means of the screw cap 2. Obviously, the right angular construction permits the shank of the tab to lie substantially iiat adjacent the side of the container. The shank I4 terminates in a portion I6 having a contour simulating that of a linger nail and of a color `and opacity identical with a thin iilm l1 of nail polish. The portion U5v is illustrated in Figs. 6

and 7 as being substantially planar but may take the form illustrated and described in connection with the preferred form of tab indicated at 3.

It will be seen that by providing each container with its individual color indicator or tab which renders a true color indication of the exact shade provided by the liquid nail polish when applied in a thin film to a finger nail, that a purchaser may determine, Without testing and without error, the precise color and appearance of the nail polish which is oifered for sale.

While I have illustrated the tabs as aiiixed to the container for the polish, it will be apparent that, Where the bottle is sold in a cardboard box or carton, the tab may be merely inserted loosely vin the carton alongside the bottle.

What I claim is:

l. In a package of the 4character described, the combination With a container for liquid nail polish of a exible, diaphanous tab aflixed at one end to said container and adapted to lie substantially iiat adjacent a side thereof but flexible to permit the insertion of a digit therebeneath; said tab being provided with a section of a color and opacity substantially identical with that of a thin, dried film of the polish in said container. 2. A package of the character described for liquid nail polish comprising a bottle provided with a removable cap, and a flexible tab having an opening adjacent one end thereof adapted to permit the neck of said bottle to pass therethrough; said tab being provided at the other end thereof with a portion having a contour generally similar to the shape of a finger nail and bearing a lm of polish of a color substantially identical with that of a iilm formed by the polish in said bottle.

3. A package of the character described comprising a container for liquid nail polish and a thin, iiexible, diaphanous tab affixed at one end to said container, said tab terminating at its other end in a concave portion approximately complementary to a linger nail and of a contour generally similar to the shape of a linger nail;

said concave portion comprising a Zone substantially` identical in color and opacity With a dried iilm of the liquid in said container.

4. In a package of the character described,

the combination with a container for liquid nail polish of a tab formed of diaphanous, substantially colorless material affixed'adjacent one end thereof to said container and adapted to lie substantially flat adjacent a side of said container but flexible to permit the insertion of a nger therebeneath; said tab being provided with an end portion having ar contour simulating the shape of a finger nail and bearing a iilm of polish of a color substantiallyv identical with that of the polish in said container in a Zone corresponding to the naturally, pink-colored portion of alinger nail.

5. In a package of the character described, the combination with a container for liquid nail polish of a tab formed of resilient material afiixed at-one end to said container and disposed to lie substantially flat adjacent a side thereof, but flexible to permit insertion of a linger therebeneath; said tab comprising a portion having a curvature and contour approximating the curvature and contour of a finger nail and coatedV with polish of a color substantially identical with that of the polish in said container.

6. In a package of the character described, the combination with a container for liquid rnail polish of a tab of resilient material aixed to said container and comprising an unsecured portion adapted 'normally to lie substantially at adjacent a side oi said 'container but movable away therefrom; the unsecured portion yoi said tab being provided with a section substantially identical in color with that of a dried lm ofthe liquid in said container and said portion being or such length as to permit the insertion of a finger therebeneath and superimposition of said colored section upon the nail of said ringer.

7. In a package of the character described, the combination with a container for liquid nail polish of a tab of resilient material affixed adjaimposition of said colored section upon the nail 10 of said nger.

HARRY EL POPP. 

